Home Affairs Minister, Kazembe Kazembe was forced to revise his statement on machete-wielding gangs after opposition MDC legislators demanded more answers.
Kazembe Kazembe who had previously sounded as if he was certain that machete-wielding gangs, popularly known as Mashurugwi or Al Shabab, had backing from political elites rephrased his statement to say:
I did not say there are confirmed sponsors. I said the way some of the gangs behave or are operating suggests that they are being sponsored by those with a heavy muscle.
I am not saying it has been confirmed. Please do not misquote me even though it is happening. We have had some MPs who were arrested recently. We will get rid of all the cartels involved in the machete gang operations.
He revised the statement after MDC demanded that Kazembe name the individuals who were sponsoring the gangs. The meeting became tense as MDC legislators suggested that ZANU PF leaders were sponsoring the gangs prompting ZANU PF MPs to ask for the eviction of MDC MPs.
Only recently, MDC leader, Nelson Chamisa accused President Emmerson Mnangagwa of being the ‘archbishop’ of the gangs and the accusations are consistent with those of former Cabinet Minister, Jonathan Moyo.
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